Page 90 of Between Earth and Eternity
I really have lost my mind.
“And then you put this mouth on my skin . . . What the hell am I supposed to do?”
We stand there, taking each other in, studying each other like it’s in the shadows where we’re our truest selves, those secret desires coming alive in dark and hidden places. It may have been five seconds or five minutes. I take a deep breath, but it does nothing to calm me.
“Please?” I ask again, dragging a trembling finger down the column of my throat, thinking about every plane of skin my tongue tasted, how much more I want to taste.
His eyes follow my every move, and when I stop, he stares at me in understanding.
I brace myself against the wall because the second his mouth is on me, there is a very good chance I will melt to the floor. He places his hands against the wall on either side of me, like he needs it for support as much as I do. His head dips lower, and his hot breath catches my skin. My eyes flutter closed just as his lips connect above my pulse, followed by his tongue. There’s nocontrolling the breath that escapes me, an embarrassing sigh, and I hope he doesn’t hear it over the blare of the music.
His tongue traces my neck, mimicking the trail I made on him, but then he gets his own ideas, pressing kisses along my collarbone before his teeth sink deep into my bare shoulder, not enough to draw blood, but possessive, untamed. Marking me.
I hiss, the pain stinging for a moment until he softly kisses the same spot.
My hands remain flat against the wall. The only thing keeping me grounded to reality. He searches my face, those fire-lined hazel eyes darting from my eyes to my mouth.
He’s looking at me like he’s never felt this before, trying to understand this, but he is Vallen Mannox. He can take whatever he wants, whoever he wants. He probably has many times with the willing women after him in droves. Probably while we’ve been on this ship despite what Bex claims.
Maybe this is a dream . . . Something could have been slipped into my drink. If it is a dream or some euphoric drug, then I don’t want to wake up, I don’t want the high to fade. I’ll die if this isn’t real.
The lights shift to blaring red. I can’t help but lick my lips nervously, and maybe if I weren’t completely losing my mind right now, I might dare to say he’s nervous as well because it takes several seconds for him to do anything.
For a moment, I think he’ll walk away, but instead, his fingers trace the underside of my jaw, rings grazing my chin.
“This wasn’t part of the plan,” he says like a confession only for himself and whatever god is listening, and then Vallen closes the last empty space separating our lips. And when the emptiness is gone, there is only us, and the universe holds still. We are everything and nothing all at once.
And I wish I hated it. I wish it turned my stomach sour, that it was vile as his tongue brushed against mine, that I realized how wrong this is.
Iwantto hate him. But I know what that weight feels like on my soul. I hate a number of things, maybe too many. I hate this ship. I hate what his family has done, especially to those who are still stuck on Earth, including the people I love and miss with every ache of my tattered heart.
But right now, in this dark hallway, somewhere deep in the galaxy, I know without a doubt that I don’t hate Vallen Mannox, and I can’t even dare to think how dangerous that is, what that means. I pull my hands off the wall, desperate to touch him, but Vallen catches them, pinning them above me, like he knows if I get my hands on him, I might not be able to stop. Or maybe he does it to stop himself from spinning out of control too. His lips never leave mine, so aware of everything I do. The gasp I make against his mouth causes him to groan, a deep rumbling in his chest. His hips nail me to the wall, and I’m desperate for friction, pushing back against him, solid and sure. And for the first time since I stepped onto this ship, I sigh in delirious defeat, letting myself fall into the cosmos, letting them pull me into darkness—his darkness. I wasn’t expecting the great beauty I would find here.
Suddenly, a high-pitched whistle from down the hall breaks us apart. I squint, taking in the unwelcome audience walking toward us.
Slade and Kol lead their entourage as they sneer at us like a pack of jackals. Vallen moves me behind himself to hide me from their view, like they haven’t already seen enough. I feel sick to my stomach.
“Oof, Val. Not your finest moment, big brother,” Slade says, taking a few more steps forward. I squeeze Vallen’s arm. Thetrauma of seeing Slade in person brings that moment in the cargo hold back to me in a wave of panic.
“Following me now, brother? Are you really that bored?” Vallen asks with disdain.
“You two were putting on quite a show,” Slade jeers.
“Fuck off,” Vallen snarls.
Slade stops in his tracks, putting his hands up. “Woah, woah. Easy there. You know Father wouldn’t be too happy to hear about another incident, especially one that involves her.”
Vallen lets out a deep, humorless chuckle. “It would not be wise to threaten me. There are more ways to break you than just a few bones.”
Slade’s eyes go wide for a second before he attempts to shake off the threat.
Vallen steps away from me, strolling up to Slade with a casual grace. He leans in to whisper in his ear, and I watch Slade’s expression transform from an evil smirk to dilated eyes and mouth ajar in shock. “Don’t ever come near her again. Got it?” Vallen slaps the side of his brother’s face like an obedient pet. Slade backs away, his followers close behind, and they leave us alone again, but only for a moment.
Bex seamlessly appears out of the shadows. Always popping up at the best and worst times. “Vallen, I need to talk to you.”
Val nods and turns back to where I awkwardly watch. “Are you okay?” he asks hurriedly.
“I’m fine.” There’s plenty more I want to say, but Bex waits a few feet away for Vallen to follow. Whatever it is must be urgent.
